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Chewing tobacco has its share of health risks, but it’s 10 to 1,000 times safer than cigarettes, according to one British Royal College of Physicians report. The reason is obvious: chewers are not actually inhaling smoke into their lungs. “The Royal College of Physicians can tell you that. I can tell you that. Alvin and the Chipmunks can tell you that,” writes Steve Chapman on Reason Online. But for some asinine reason, tobacco companies can't—legally.

Tobacco companies, eager to sell snuff and snus, have implored the FDA to let them market them as a safer alternative to smoking. But critics have countered that that’ll lead to more smoking—even though the evidence suggests the opposite. “American smokers are stumbling around in a dense cloud of ignorance,” writes Chapman; 83% think chewing and smoking are equally deadly. “Letting smokeless tobacco companies dispense truth would do a lot to clear the air.”

the Karolinska Institute of Environmental Medicine in Stockholm have just released a new study of tobacco use and MS, which was published in the September 1 issue of the journal Neurology. They compared tobacco use among persons diagnosed with MS (cases) with a group of controls derived from the Swedish population. This experimental design, called a population-based case-control study, is common in epidemiology. "In contrast to smoking, the study found that snus users had lower risks for MS than nonusers of tobacco." "A previous study by the American Cancer Society showed that smokeless tobacco use may be protective for Parkinsonâ€™s Disease (a neurologic illness) (RR = 0.22, CI = 0.07 â€“ 0.67). The Karolinska Institute study provides evidence that smokeless tobacco may provide protection for multiple sclerosis as well. " Also, from Brad Rodu "Boffetta reported that the summary relative risk (RR) for heart attack among smokeless tobacco users was 0.99, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.89 to 1.10 (For a discussion on how to interpret RRs and CIs, see my recent post). For stroke, Boffetta reported a minimal increase in risk (RR = 1.19) that was not statistically significant (CI = 0.97 â€“ 1.47). Thus, the main finding in this study is that smokeless tobacco users have no excess risk of heart attack or stroke. " Hope this clears up any confusion. As stated earlier, I have all of this compiled at http://www.snubie.com/health.h... , and if you have any more questions or comments about snus, feel free to ask. That being said, snus is not "dip". American "dip" is not snus. These are two completely different products, and I stress that not all oral tobacco products are the same. This is a common stereotype. Please be educated before mentioning cancer or anything that applies to "dip" that does not apply to "snus" Chad

chadizzy1

Feb 3, 2010 7:43 AM CST

Regarding snus: From ABC News: "Studies have found no connection between the use of snus and oral cancer, chronic high blood pressure or heart disease. " ALSO... Erik Rutqvist, MD, PhD "...during my time as a researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, I was one of the initiators of a large-scale epidemiological study of the risk of oral cancer associated with snus. We found no increased risk among snus users (who on average had used snus for about 20 years). Later on, other Swedish studies confirmed our results which prompted the European Union to order a removal of the cancer warning from the snus cans. My research group at the Karolinska also noted that, based on extensive epidemiological research, many prestigious institutions, for instance, the Royal College of Physicians in London, concluded that using smokefree tobacco in general, and Swedish snus in particular, is associated with substantially lowered risks of tobacco-related disease compared to cigarette smoking." The Lancet: "We should not delay in allowing snus to compete with cigarettes for market share," Dr. Jonathan Foulds of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Dr. Lynn Kozlowski of the University of Buffalo said in analyzing two studies published in The Lancet. The Lancet: "International researchers followed 279,897 male Swedish construction workers from 1978 to 1992. About 26 percent were snus users, 37 percent were smokers and the rest never used tobacco. " From the same study... "The study also showed that using snus did not increase the risk of oral cancer,..." "For a smoker, quitting all tobacco use is best, but failing that, switching to snus is a good idea," said Dr. Peter Hajek, professor of clinical psychology at Queen Mary University Hospital in London. Hajek was not involved in either study. " "New research: That is the question examined in this recent Lancet paper. The researchers followed more than 125,000 Swedish construction workers, for 12 to 26 years, who were nonsmoking users of snus. They found no increase in oral or lung cancers, compared with nonsmokers who did not use any form of tobacco." Benefits of snus over cigarettes. "Lower risks of lung and oral cancers. A Lancet study found no increased risk of lung or oral cancers in snus users when compared to the general population, a risk that's certainly more powerful for cigarette smokers. Much of this can be attributed to the different curing methods of Swedish snus, which are designed to cut down on active carcinogens in the product." "Respiratory diseases. Obviously, you don't smoke snus, so if you're able to switch from cigarettes you eliminate not only lung cancer risks but risks of other diseases like asthma and emphysema. One study even implied that snus use actually improves the respiratory system of users." "Secondhand risks. Second hand smoke risks are also completely eliminated." From Brad Rodu's Tobacco Truth Blog: "Researchers at...

KennyBoy

Jan 13, 2010 12:37 PM CST

Don't you worry kids the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries are working their tails off to come up with a product that is as pleasant as nicotine, gives the immediate gratification of a cigarette, is just as addictive but won't give you cancer. And that you can't grow in your back yard.